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Monday, December 8, 2014

Review: "Whither Thou Goest" by Anna Belfrage

Synopsis:
Whither Thou Goest is the seventh book in Anna Belfrage’s series
featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century
husband, Matthew Graham.

In their rural home in the Colony of Maryland, Matthew and Alex
Graham are still recovering from the awful events of the previous years
when Luke Graham, Matthew’s estranged brother, asks them for a favour.

Alex has no problems whatsoever ignoring Luke’s sad plea for help. In
her opinion Matthew’s brother is an evil excuse of a man who deserves
whatever nasty stuff fate throws at him. Except, as Matthew points out,
Luke is begging them to save his son – his misled Charlie, one of the
Monmouth rebels – and can Charlie Graham be held responsible for his
father’s ill deeds?

So off they go on yet another adventure, this time to the West Indies
to find a young man neither of them knows but who faces imminent death
on a sugar plantation, condemned to slavery for treason. The journey is
hazardous and along the way Alex comes face to face with a most
disturbing ghost from her previous life, a man she would much have
preferred never to have met.

Time is running out for Charlie Graham, Matthew is haunted by
reawakened memories of his days as an indentured servant, and then
there’s the eerie Mr Brown, Charlie’s new owner, who will do anything to
keep his secrets safe, anything at all.

Will Matthew deliver his nephew from imminent death? And will they ever make it back home?

My Thoughts: Even after seven books, Anna Belfrage does not disappoint! Whither Thou Goest is the latest book in the Graham Saga and follows Alex and Matthew on new adventures.

It's hard to believe that Alex and Matthew are getting older because they still seem as energetic as they did from day one. Belfrage does a wonderful job of showing how much they still love each other and has created this ideal couple out of Alex and Matthew. I love how they still face every hurdle head on and together and that no matter where they go, mischief seems to find them.

There was a lot going on in this book but the story definitely had a slower pace to it. I appreciated that this book wasn't super action packed because after the last book, I think the characters (and the reader) needed a break! Don't get me wrong, there was action in this book but it was just on a much smaller scale. The reader got to know some of Graham children better; Sarah and David both moved to the forefront of this story and it was fun to watch them develop as characters.

Oh boy, can Belfrage write some villains. Angel Munoz was about as evil as they come and Sassafras Brown was super creepy. They aren't the Burleys, but they were both pretty bad. I'm curious about the Angel past/future connection and look forward to seeing if there is more about that in the next book. In fact, I really look forward to the next book in general. This book did a great job of getting things ready for the last book; I'm so excited to see how things turn out and can't wait to see if all of my questions will be answered.

Overall, Whither Thou Goest is another hit. Like I always say in these reviews, if you haven't read the series, go do it! I can't stress enough how much I love everything about it. 4 stars.

About the Author:

I was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture,
English history and Swedish traditions. As a result I’m multilingual and
most of my reading is historical – both non-fiction and fiction.

I was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both.
Instead I ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very
little time to spare for my most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as
one must, and in between juggling a challenging career I raised my four
children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates
and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive …
Nowadays I spend most of my spare time at my writing desk. The children
are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and I slip away into
my imaginary world, with my imaginary characters. Every now and then
the one and only man in my life pops his head in to ensure I’m still
there. I like that – just as I like how he makes me laugh so often I’ll
probably live to well over a hundred.

I was always going to be a writer. Now I am – I have achieved my dream.